


come back to bed

by timefornothing



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 18:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18504226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timefornothing/pseuds/timefornothing
Summary: tony stays up too late working on projects. 1k stony fluff





	come back to bed

_"Mr. Stark, Steve is approaching."_

"Deny him."

A door clanged shut above the staircase, followed by a rather loud groan.

"Tony!"

 

_"Mr. Stark, Steve is requesting access."_

"Deny him."

Ignoring the annoying knocking, Tony continued to fine tune the smaller mechanical parts of the new arm. He was finally past the welding stage, now working on threading the newer wires with the nanotech--

"Tony, don't make me do this!"

\--which was hard enough in itself, but considering he was adding in a new series of webbing, it only doubled how precise he had to be--

_"Wifey protocol engaged. Main lab door unlocked."_

Blinking, Tony glanced up from where he had been staring for who knows how long. Steve must have been annoyed to do that, he hated gendered terms for their partnership. The best way to get him going was asking which one of them wore the pants, and he thought by making the only way to let Steve in called 'Wifey Protocol', it'd only be emergencies that made him come in.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the metal staircase, and the rest of Steve's body soon followed into view. Tony spun around to work on a different part of the nano webbing, his holo-diagrams moving with him.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Steve asked tiredly once he had reached the main floor.

Without looking up, Tony answered, "Science never sleeps, Cap."

Another heavy sigh. "Tony, really. It's almost four in the morning."

Another wire in place, and he quickly grabbed the small metal tie to hold it down. "Sounds like a good time to be awake. You know they say only good things happen after two in the morning--"

"Tony."

The tone in his boyfriend's voice finally caught Tony's attention. It was tired, like he'd noticed before, but also a little desperate. Following the silence, Steve continued, "This is the fourth night in a row, Tony. Is something going on?"

He shrugged awkwardly, eyes still flying over the plans and looking for a way out of this conversation. Tony was sure Steve had been asleep when he had gotten up this time. Or was that last night? "Nothing but bouts of inspiration. You know how genius works."

"Tony."

"Captain America."

Another long pause, and then suddenly, warm hands rested gently on his waist. Startled, he gripped the pliers in his hand tighter. Both of them were jumpy with surprise physical contact, which wasn't surprising after all they'd been through, so for Steve to initiate this, it must have looked bad.

He swallowed, forcing his hand to relax as he asked, "How long have I been down here?"

Steve's hands continued to slide around his middle, ending up in a comforting hug. "Almost seven hours."

Damn. He finally flicked his eyes to close all the windows in his glasses, looking beyond all his tech to the time projected on the wall. He was right, it was 3:48. 

"Sorry."

He could feel the fond but tense smile against his neck as Steve pulled him in closer. "No, you're not."

Looking at how much headway he made, once again, the great Captain Rogers was right. "Yeah, not really."

Steve moved his hand down Tony's arm, gently taking the pliers out of his grasp and setting them on the work table. "Something bothering you?"

He could lie again. He'd done it plenty of times, nothing new. Even if it was common practice to embellish and deflect, he hated doing it with Steve. With a heavy sigh, he braced himself for being honest. "Had a nightmare again. Couple days ago. New York. The usual."

It was terrible, every time. Didn't matter how many times he relived it in his head, it was always terrifying. The fall into space, looking up and seeing the massive warships explode, feeling it as his heart stopped in his chest.

The cold silence after it stopped.

"Hey, hey." Soft words brought him back, made Tony blink and clear his throat as he sat up straighter, away from where he had leaned further into Steve's touch. The arms around him only held him tighter, pulled him closer. "It's alright, Tony, it's alright. You made it. You're here now, with me, and you're alright. You'll be alright." He took a second to close his eyes and breathe, remind himself that Steve was right. He _had_ made it, he had lived through the battle of New York and countless fights after that. He would be alright. He was alright now, and he was here, alive.

Clearing his throat again, Tony nodded. "Yeah, sorry 'bout the flashback, Rogers. Won't happen again."

"Especially not if you come back to bed."

Tony stiffened, the mere thought of trying to sleep again enough to make him panic. Instantly, Steve was murmuring quietly, hands moving slowly and calming him down. With a soft kiss to the side of his head, Steve reminded him, "Come back to bed with _me._ I'll be there every moment, alright? Even if you wake up on that street in New York again."

The thought of Steve being there when he woke up definitely helped. He'd never admit it, but Steve's presence had always comforted him, always calmed him down. Even when they had been fighting, even at their worst moments, just knowing Steve was there was enough to put him at ease, to think clearly and get the job done. 

Steve had always helped him in some way or another, even when he didn't realize it.

With one last forlorn look to his project, Tony nodded, sighing as he scooted his stool back so he could stand. "Yeah, yeah, alright. You've wooed me." Steve laughed lightly but kept a hand on his lower back as he stood, waiting to walk out with him. Always waiting for him.

Tony let himself be pulled further into Steve's side as they went upstairs, telling him, "You know, I was really on a breakthrough down there."

"Yeah, well." Steve's snort was fond, a sound Tony had grown to love to hear. "If you're as genius as everyone says you are, you'll still remember it after a good night's sleep."

God, how far gone was he that the guy's _snort_ made him all soft inside? Too far gone, obviously. "Aye aye, cap'n. The cure for cancer rests in your faith in my brain." Steve faltered a step, shooting him a surprised look, and Tony laughed, pulling him along. "Kidding, kidding, I swear. Just more robot stuff. Now, where is this bed you were talking about?"

**Author's Note:**

> just a short drabble for a friend :)
> 
> im on tumblr at asahiwasabi if you wanna talk marvel!


End file.
